Diversity, evolution and medical applications of insect antimicrobial peptides

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are short proteins with antimicrobial activity. A large portion of known AMPs originate from insects, and the number and diversity of these molecules in different species varies considerably. Insect AMPs represent a potential source of alternative antibiotics to address the limitation of current antibiotics, which has been caused by the emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant pathogens. To get more insight into AMPs, we investigated the diversity and evolution of insect AMPs by mapping their phylogenetic distribution, allowing us to predict the evolutionary origins of selected AMP families and to identify evolutionarily conserved and taxon-specific families. Furthermore, we highlight the use of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a whole-animal model in high-throughput screening methods to identify AMPs with efficacy against human pathogens, including Acinetobacter baumanii and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. We also discuss the potential medical applications of AMPs, including their use as alternatives for conventional antibiotics in ectopic therapies, their combined use with antibiotics to restore the susceptibility of multidrug-resistant pathogens, and their use as templates for the rational design of peptidomimetic drugs that overcome the disadvantages of therapeutic peptides.

The article is part of the themed issue ‘Evolutionary ecology of arthropod antimicrobial peptides’.

Related collections

Most cited references 90

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Antibiotic resistance-the need for global solutions.

Ramanan Laxminarayan, Adriano Duse, Chand Wattal … (2013)

The causes of antibiotic resistance are complex and include human behaviour at many levels of society; the consequences affect everybody in the world. Similarities with climate change are evident. Many efforts have been made to describe the many different facets of antibiotic resistance and the interventions needed to meet the challenge. However, coordinated action is largely absent, especially at the political level, both nationally and internationally. Antibiotics paved the way for unprecedented medical and societal developments, and are today indispensible in all health systems. Achievements in modern medicine, such as major surgery, organ transplantation, treatment of preterm babies, and cancer chemotherapy, which we today take for granted, would not be possible without access to effective treatment for bacterial infections. Within just a few years, we might be faced with dire setbacks, medically, socially, and economically, unless real and unprecedented global coordinated actions are immediately taken. Here, we describe the global situation of antibiotic resistance, its major causes and consequences, and identify key areas in which action is urgently needed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

0 comments Cited 1425 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Prospective surveillance for invasive fungal infections in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients, 2001-2006: overview of the Transplant-Associated Infection Surveillance Network (TRANSNET) Database.

Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis, Kieren A Marr, Benjamin J Park … (2010)

The incidence and epidemiology of invasive fungal infections (IFIs), a leading cause of death among hematopoeitic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients, are derived mainly from single-institution retrospective studies. The Transplant Associated Infections Surveillance Network, a network of 23 US transplant centers, prospectively enrolled HSCT recipients with proven and probable IFIs occurring between March 2001 and March 2006. We collected denominator data on all HSCTs preformed at each site and clinical, diagnostic, and outcome information for each IFI case. To estimate trends in IFI, we calculated the 12-month cumulative incidence among 9 sequential subcohorts. We identified 983 IFIs among 875 HSCT recipients. The median age of the patients was 49 years; 60% were male. Invasive aspergillosis (43%), invasive candidiasis (28%), and zygomycosis (8%) were the most common IFIs. Fifty-nine percent and 61% of IFIs were recognized within 60 days of neutropenia and graft-versus-host disease, respectively. Median onset of candidiasis and aspergillosis after HSCT was 61 days and 99 days, respectively. Within a cohort of 16,200 HSCT recipients who received their first transplants between March 2001 and September 2005 and were followed up through March 2006, we identified 718 IFIs in 639 persons. Twelve-month cumulative incidences, based on the first IFI, were 7.7 cases per 100 transplants for matched unrelated allogeneic, 8.1 cases per 100 transplants for mismatched-related allogeneic, 5.8 cases per 100 transplants for matched-related allogeneic, and 1.2 cases per 100 transplants for autologous HSCT. In this national prospective surveillance study of IFIs in HSCT recipients, the cumulative incidence was highest for aspergillosis, followed by candidiasis. Understanding the epidemiologic trends and burden of IFIs may lead to improved management strategies and study design.

0 comments Cited 404 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Evolutionary dynamics of immune-related genes and pathways in disease-vector mosquitoes.

Robert Waterhouse, Evgenia Kriventseva, Stephan Meister … (2007)

Mosquitoes are vectors of parasitic and viral diseases of immense importance for public health. The acquisition of the genome sequence of the yellow fever and Dengue vector, Aedes aegypti (Aa), has enabled a comparative phylogenomic analysis of the insect immune repertoire: in Aa, the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae (Ag), and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster (Dm). Analysis of immune signaling pathways and response modules reveals both conservative and rapidly evolving features associated with different functional gene categories and particular aspects of immune reactions. These dynamics reflect in part continuous readjustment between accommodation and rejection of pathogens and suggest how innate immunity may have evolved.

0 comments Cited 261 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci

Journal ID (publisher-id): RSTB

Journal ID (hwp): royptb

Title: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Publisher: The Royal Society

ISSN (Print): 0962-8436

ISSN (Electronic): 1471-2970

Publication date (Print): 26 May 2016

Publication date PMC-release: 26 May 2016

Volume: 371

Issue: 1695 , Theme issue ‘Evolutionary ecology of arthropod antimicrobial peptides’ compiled and edited by Jens Rolff and Paul Schmid-Hempel

Electronic Location Identifier: 20150290

Affiliations

[1 ]Division of Infectious Disease, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University , Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA

[2 ]Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Zooecology, University of Bonn , Bonn, Germany

[3 ]Institute for Insect Biotechnology, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen , Giessen, Germany

[4 ]Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology , Giessen, Germany

Author notes

e-mail: andreas.vilcinskas@ 123456agrar.uni-giessen.de

One contribution of 13 to a theme issue ‘ Evolutionary ecology of arthropod antimicrobial peptides’.

Author information

Andreas Vilcinskas http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8276-4968

Article

Publisher ID: rstb20150290

DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0290

PMC ID: 4874388

PubMed ID: 27160593

SO-VID: c139a0db-ae00-41d8-b6d2-b28389a28e6a

License:

Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.

History

Date accepted : 8 February 2016

Funding

Funded by: Hessen State Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts (HMWK);

Award ID: LOEWE-Center for Insect Biotechnology

Funded by: Leibnitz Graduate School;

Award ID: Genomic Biodiversity Research

Custom metadata

cover-date May 26, 2016

ScienceOpen disciplines: Philosophy of science

Keywords: antimicrobial peptides,anti-infective,drug development,evolution,immunity,insects

Data availability:

ScienceOpen disciplines: Philosophy of science

Keywords: antimicrobial peptides, anti-infective, drug development, evolution, immunity, insects

Diversity, evolution and medical applications of insect antimicrobial peptides

Read this article at

Abstract

Related collections

Crocodylian evolution

Most cited references 90

Antibiotic resistance-the need for global solutions.

Prospective surveillance for invasive fungal infections in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients, 2001-2006: overview of the Transplant-Associated Infection Surveillance Network (TRANSNET) Database.

Evolutionary dynamics of immune-related genes and pathways in disease-vector mosquitoes.

Author and article information

Journal

Affiliations

Author notes

Author information

Article

History

Funding

Categories

Custom metadata

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 176

Cited by 87

Most referenced authors 1,689